Greens move HRC as CIDCO fails to check Illegal temples on landslide-prone Belapur Hills

Navi Mumbai: Concerned by the inaction by City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO)  against illegal temples built dangerously on landslide-prone Belapur hillslopes in violation of courts and State government orders, environmentalists have moved the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) expressing fears of disasters.

The MSHRC itself has ordered in August 2024 to CIDCO and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to act against 29 temples on Belapur Hill and one on Parsik Hill as the local residents and environmentalists have been agitating following landslides from the hills.

Some of the religious structures can accommodate over a thousand devotees and even their lives would be in danger, said NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar who filed the application pleading for an intervention by the HRC to save lives and properties. “The monsoon is not far away,” Kumar said in a press statement. 

Kumar pleaded with the HRC to order CIDCO to comply with the Commission’s order and file an action taken report.

Kumar pointed out that the state government, CIDCO and NMMC have all committed last year to the Commission that action would be taken against the illegal structures when the rights body has taken a suo-moto notice of the media reports on the people’s concerns over landslide threats.

The residents formed human chains twice to focus attention on the “serious dangers” as the hill soil has become very loose due to uprooting of hundreds of trees for the construction.

“With no action forthcoming from CIDCO, we have also complained to Chief Vigilance Officer Suresh Mengade who merely promised to look into the issue,” said activist and advocate Himanshu Katkar.

Another activist Krishnan Potti said some temples have also started expansion despite the CIDCO notices to them.

As per the Supreme Court orders any illegal religious structure in public places should be categorized for demolition, regularization and relocation. But the Belapur hill temples fall under the first category and notices have already been served on them after a joint survey by CIDCO and NMMC.

“Yet the authorities are simply procrastinating, " said local resident Kapil Kulkarni and wondered if CIDCO would act after an Irshalwadi type tragedy strikes the hills. Close to 80 people died and an entire village in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. was wiped out in the landslide on July 23,2023.

The state urban development department has repeatedly called upon CIDCO and NMMC to demolish the illegal temples as per the courts as well as the HRC orders, information obtained by NatConnect under the RTI Act shows.

“CIDCO has earlier tried to pass the buck to NMMC. But the state government clearly stated that the hill area is under CIDCO,” the environmentalists said.